Residents concerned with proposed Canandaigua frack law

Tuesday

Nov 19, 2013 at 3:12 PMNov 19, 2013 at 3:12 PM

By Scott Pukosspukos@messengerpostmedia.com

CANANDAIGUA — There was no vote Monday night on an oil and gas extraction ban for the Town of Canandaigua, as residents expressed opposition to an exemption that would allow drilling for on-site personal or agricultural use.

“Our concern is these revisions will cause a hydrofracking-sized loophole that trucks can drive right through,” said Canandaigua resident and Environmental Conservation Board chairman Kevin Reynolds.

The draft ban — which took about 15 months to construct— states that, if passed, the law would prohibit “land uses related to the exploration for, extraction and storage of natural gas, petroleum and similar hydrocarbon-based resources.” It includes an exemption that would allow gas wells on private property. Multiple board members expressed their opposition to high-volume hydraulic fracturing — a controversial gas drilling method — but said they have no problem with people using private wells for personal or agricultural uses.

“If a person who has gas on their property, wants to get that gas out to heat their home, to dry their corn, to do something for a personal nature, I have no problem with that,” Councilman Terry Fennelly said. “We were trying to find a way to let people who have access to that enjoy it, as part of owning that property.”

He added that if people in the town want an all-out ban — including the personal and agricultural use piece — he would vote in favor of banning all forms of drilling. In the case of an all-out ban, board members concurred that private wells already in use would be grandfathered in, meaning they would not suddenly become illegal.

Many who spoke during Monday night's public hearing at the Canandaigua Town Hall agreed with Reynolds that the exemption should be eliminated.

“This is a huge problem,” said Steven Foster, of Canandaigua. “Maybe you think you're trying to do a favor for a few individuals, but it puts us all at risk. It's insanity.”

The public raised other concerns as well. Foster, along with his wife Gloria Foster, questioned whether a specific clause to ban liquefied natural gas would be included.

During the sometimes-heating meeting, one resident individually called out a Town Board member for supporting the current draft of the ban, and Gloria Foster speculated that the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is “bought off” and not thinking about people in small towns like Canandaigua.

The Town Board does not have to rush a vote on the ban. At the moment, the town has a moratorium in place on any large-scale natural resource extraction, one which expires in March 2014. It was approved in December 2011 and extended in May 2013.

The full draft of the local law can be found at townofcanandaigua.org.

The public hearing will open up again during the Dec. 9 Canandaigua Town Board meeting. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Canandaigua Town Hall.